A recent survey of Brits living in Spain heralded very interesting results, suggesting that despite the reputation that they rely on speaking English, only eat British food and only socialise with other Brits, most of those who live there enjoy a very British life. The survey asked people to use one word to describe how they felt about living in Spain and the word “happy” was the most used, while “relaxed” and “content” were also popular. When looking further into the lives of the respondents, the survey revealed that over 50% spoke Spanish with the locals and friends, enjoyed Spanish food, ha
A new initiative has introduced Meat-free Mondays and more vegetarianism as a whole into the city of Barcelona, with the support of the local council. The Spanish are meat lovers; there is no doubt about it. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you are traditionally likely to find problems when looking for food you can eat – unless of course, you specifically seek out one of the few vegetarian restaurants available, usually only in the larger towns and cities.
One of the pleasures that living in Spain offers is the chance to eat out regularly at reasonable prices. Whether you go out with friends for tapas or for a menú del día for lunch, you’ll always find good food that doesn’t cost the earth. If you feel like staying in one evening and cooking yourselves a good meal, though, how much will you have to spend?
Love it or hate it, bullfighting is deeply imbedded in Spanish culture – although perhaps for not much longer, as the animal rights groups are slowly but surely upsetting this once all pervading so called “sport”.
There is a strong police presence in Spain. We often see various police forces stationed at roundabouts monitoring and stopping drivers, police patrolling the streets and beaches, police at public events large and small and patrol cars making nightly rounds. Catalonia has its own police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra which protects the 7 million people who live in the region and its own Police Academy, the ISPC (Institut de Seguretat Pública de Catalunya) located near Barcelona.
Gin and tonic tastes a million times better with home-grown lemons. Trust me, I’ve tried it, so have the neighbours! So, finding my four-foot lemon tree dripping with fruit when I arrived at my Costa Brava villa this week was a real treat, at least for me and the wife, who enjoy a sundowner. The children – three year old Clemence, six year old Harry and nine year old Maddy – were more excited about slurping away on their all-time favourite drink, chocolate flavoured Cacaolat, which you don’t get in the UK. I think the youngest can see off a carton in under 10 seconds now.
